What’s Happening: A new interview with the man who Kanye West hired to gut one of the few stateside residences designed by Tadao Ando sheds new light on the bewildering beachfront “architectural cadaver” the rapper is still trying to sell.

The Download: Since 2023, Kanye West’s deconstructed, Tadao Ando–designed beach house has sat “rotting” in the salt air of Malibu Road. The carcass of the quasi-Brutalist home now stands in stark contrast to its neighbors, all but reduced to a hollow cement exoskeleton—a standing eulogy to its status as an ode to the architectural master’s chosen material. West purchased the home in 2021 for $57.21 million and promptly set about having all elements of the interior, HVAC, plumbing, walls, electricity, power, and even stairs removed in pursuit of a “stair-to-slide conversion.” The world has since watched as the property, whose creative pedigree once priced it at nearly three times the cost of its neighbors, was inexplicably stripped of its interiors and value. For a new layer of context to the pop-architecture mystery, look no further than the New Yorker. The magazine recently published an interview with Tony Saxon, who worked as Ye’s handyman on the demolition.

Instead of hobbling the property, as he eventually did, Saxon says that Ye seemed intent on reimagining—or “remixing,” it, in the New Yorker’s choice of words—into his own architectural vernacular. Though West has previously described Ando as “the Ye of all the architects,” fellow architect Kulapat Yantrasast said Ye “did not like the interior.”

And while celebrity real-estate broker Jason Oppenheim told People in 2023 that much of the property’s concrete work and “architectural integrity” remained, Saxon recalls sledgehammering Ando’s marble bathroom walls and even chimneys the New Yorker author posits were a reference to the architect’s work on the Pulitzer Arts Foundation. As to the question of what West was actually pursuing with the ill-fated project? AD suggests his vision resembled a James Turrell Skyspace: a minimalist, open-air dwelling intentionally devoid of “domestic trappings.”

In Their Own Words: “It’s funny—and not funny, in a way—to say, ‘I’m the man who singlehandedly destroyed this architectural masterpiece,’” Saxon, a New Jersey native-turned California transplant, told the New Yorker. “But I pretty much did.”

Surface Says: They say all press is good press, but the real estate market seems to disagree: Ando’s house, or what’s left of it, is for sale again, this time for $39 million—a steep decline from the $53 million it was asking back in 2023.

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Jet-setting “work hard, recover hard” types will know that Desa Potato Head has become synonymous with high culture, good food, and serious wellness. With the addition of Klymax, a new OMA-designed nightclub, the property is also adding a serious dance scene to its list of offerings. The firm tapped British house sound sensation DJ Harvey as a collaborator, who in turn commissioned a custom sound system from Studio 54 audio engineer George Stavro. Inside, a massive disco ball commands all eyes, while speaker stacks, a floating DJ booth, and slick cognac-hued interiors set the stage for dancing until sun-up.

A sense of pop-inflected playfulness pervades the wide-ranging portfolio of Milanese designer Serena Confalonieri, whose talents extend from product design and restaurant interiors to large-scale urban graphics and punchy textiles. The allure of her works lies not only in the unexpected color and material combinations that distinguish them from your typical everyday objects, but the upbeat emotions and senses of bliss and whimsy they conjure.

Our weekly roundup of the internet’s most preposterous headlines, from the outrageous to the outright bizarre.

YouTuber Faces a Federal Charge After Allegedly Directing Video of Fireworks Being Shot From a Helicopter at a Lamborghini [CNN]

Giraffe Hoists Two-Year-Old Into the Air at Drive-Thru Safari Park: “My Heart Stopped” [CBS]

23 Sets of Twins Are Graduating From a Needham Middle School [The Boston Globe]

Chinese Military Buff Inadvertently Bought Four Books of Secrets for Under $1 [Time]

Will Smith Admits He “Checked Out of a Hotel” After Terrifying Encounter With “Scary” Ghost [Mirror]

Post-Surgery Patient’s Colon Falls Out of His Body Following a “Forceful” Sneeze [New York Post]

Last weekend, artists and architecture enthusiasts decamped to New Canaan, CT, to take in Philip Johnson’s architectural landmark on the occasion of its 75th anniversary. Guests explored the campus and its amenities, such as an Aesop scent bar and a Max Mara pop-up shop, and took in performances by Brendan Fernandes as well as a DJ set by Rachel Winters. A benefit auction afforded visitors the opportunity to acquire Ed Ruscha’s limited-edition lithograph, The Glass House. Attendees also viewed works from the Glass House’s permanent collection, including artworks by Frank Stella and Shigeru Ban’s installation Paper Log House.

When was it? June 10

Where was it? The Glass House, New Canaan

Who was there? Nikki Glaser, Rachel Winters, Radhika Gupta-Buckley, Kirsten Reoch, Polina Proshkina, Nazy Nazhand, and more.

Amagansett’s The Reform Club feels like a well-manicured family estate rather than a hotel: boasting seven suites and three cottages that dot the grounds and for larger groups, a private four-bedroom home, called 21 House. All guest rooms are white and airy yet welcoming year-round, while spread-out privacy does not come at the expense of location: Reform Club is mere minutes from Amagansett town. Guests can expect a stellar art collection, beach cruisers, in-room spa appointments, and a dedicated concierge.

Surface Says: There’s a reason the in-the-know flock to the picket-fence idyll of Amagansett’s Reform Club: its five-acre grounds and art-filled accommodations attract privacy-minded creatives seeking to balance fun and respite.

Elite spreadsheet masters are competing in the Excel World Championship.

You can pay $1 to hear a quick sampler of Wu-Tang Clan’s hyper-deluxe album.

Meet a Florida family of worm charmers that coax earthworms from the forest.

It’s just a plan, but the Einstein Telescope could launch a new era in astronomy.